Telecom operators have decided to waive off charges for mobile banking services till December 31, 2016.

If you are fretting over all those mobile banking charges that you will have to pay with e-banking gaining traction after demonetisation, you are in for some relief.

If you are fretting over all those mobile banking charges that you will have to pay with e-banking gaining traction after demonetisation, you are in for some relief. Telecom operators have decided to waive off charges for mobile banking services till December 31, 2016. Telecom minister Manoj Sinha tweeted about this move from telcos. “At present, a charge is being levied by telecom operators for the mobile banking, which is commonly known as USSD charge. To facilitate use of electronic banking facility&reduce difficulty to the common man, telecom operators have decided to waive off charges for mobile banking services till 31st December 2016. This move will help people with feature phones 2 access electronic banking facility without incurring any additional cost till 31stDec2016,” he said.

Another good news for consumers is that their home and car loan EMIs may come down soon. With massive deposits being made in banks by people, most major banking institutions have cut their deposit rates. In the world of banking, cutting deposit rates is seen as a first positive sign that banks may cut lending rates as well. With banks having to pay lesser interest rates on your deposits, they now have the flexibility to lend at lower rates.

The Narendra Modi government has come under severe criticism from the Opposition for its move to demonetise old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. The reaction on the ground has, however, been mixed. While most people have lauded the move to check black money and corruption, many have said that the implementation, especially when it comes to availability of currency, should have been much better.

Struggling to deal with growing anger among the public over cash crunch, the Modi government is issuing new guidelines every few days. These are based on public feedback and are aimed at reducing the problems that common man is facing, following the massive demonetisation drive. The government has also warned that those who are using other people’s bank accounts to convert their black money will be severely punished. Not only that, those who allow their accounts to be misused for this purpose will also face prosecution.

Meanwhile, ATMs are progressively getting recalibrated. As and when they are recalibrated, the cash limit of such ATMs will stand enhanced to Rs 2500 per withdrawal. This will enable dispensing of lower denomination currency notes for about Rs 500 per withdrawal. Other ATMs which are yet to be recalibrated, will continue to dispense Rs 2000 till they are recalibrated.